GuardianWitnesshttp://n0tice.com
Policinghttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec5f02e4b0d1cbcab7bbc5/1409634
One Police Officer's Perspective
In 1984 I was 23 with 4 years service. I think we still had 48 police forces around England and Wales - most were County forces not long created out of the amalgamation of a polyglot of tinpot city, borough and countryside forelock tugging yokels.
Every Force regarded others with a mixture of suspicion and contempt. Thames Valley was universally known as "Chad Valley" after the toy manufacturer. The Met was still regarded as corrupt and a law unto itself, and all major City Forces thought everyone in a County Force was a bumpkin with straw in their hair.
None of these prejudices were far from the truth. The backbone of the Service throughout the country were ex forces. Usually ex junior NCOs to whom the Police was a soft landing into civilian life. You got a uniform, a free house and a pension at the end of it. You didn't really have to think too much if you didn't want to, just toe the line and conform.
No one ever joined the police to change anything. It was by definition, composition and character, a law enforcing, status quo preserving (if working class) organisation. Natural successors to the gamekeepers of old, keeping the masses away from their masters' juicy bits.
Naturally conservative and Conservative, it had just received a series of unprecedented pay rises, taking officers off income support and supplementary benefit, to a reasonable level of income within a very short four years.
The fact that the Edmund Davies pay review was instituted by a Labour Government was lost on a police service, that has always voted for Christmas, even though they were quite obviously Turkeys and always would be. (It is plain for all to see that once Thatcher and her children had broken the back of the working class, they have gone after the Police Service with a vengeance.)
Thatcher et al have always been given credit for backing Scargill into a corner and forcing him to call a strike in the Spring when we had record coal stocks - essentially the strike was doomed from the start. If ever there really was a case of 'Lions being led by Donkeys' the NUM was it.
She also judged the value and ability of 'her' police service to a 'T'. Despite press calls there was never a need for troops on the streets as Thatcher, to all intents and purposes, already had them.
At one stage the Met were riding around with stickers in their vehicles 'Maggie's Boot Boys' emblazoned thereon for all to see. Blanket instructions for stickers to be removed resulted in 'A dog is for life, not just for Christmas' being removed from ours!
Throughout the strike, despite every force contributing Police Support Units (PSU), the Police maintained the fiction that they were not centrally controlled. Merely directing support on an ad hoc basis to where it was required. Twaddle really, and even we knew it.
I came from a Shire Constabulary in the east of England with a load of flat land within its boundaries. My PSU had a fair number of men who had webbed feet, one for christ's sake even had his own Indian Chief spirit Guide sitting in the crew bus with him. Decisions had obviously been made by the powers that be that we were not going anywhere important, or where anything more than a 'push me, shove you' was likely to occur.
If anything life was like a cross between Waugh's Sword of Honour Trilogy and Tom Sharp's Ancestral Vices. We drifted, semi-serenely in our own little world, around the North Midlands. I walked on the grass at RAF Scampton, slept 200 to a room at a Drill Hall in Chesterfield. Played cribbage for hours on end on an upturned riot shield. Built braziers at the pit gates using oil drums, burning gash timber as oddly we weren't allowed to use coal, nor could we use the toilets. Burnt holes in the soles of our Doc Martin boots, worked 17 hour days, got showered, got pissed, and went back to 'work', learned to sleep standing up, dodged bricks thrown from the darkness by some twat who thought it was funny.
Chatted to the pickets, who when galvanised by a 52 seater coach containing two Scabs, would scream abuse and shove gently one way, whilst we pushed with equal lack of enthusiasm in the other. We then said our goodbyes until the Scabs went home and the ritual was repeated all over again.
The miners were good blokes, Scabs were too and so were we. Like Northern Ireland (ok without the bombs, bullets, death and 400 years of hatred), this was a Working Class War. Miners and Police often came from the same families. I have generations of coal miners in mine.
Thatcher: we took her shilling, paid off our mortgages, went on holiday, bought expensive cars and furniture on the back of the fortune in overtime we earned. Our central control, the Police Reporting Centre, bussed us around the country stamping, literally or otherwise, on the last bastions of working class and union power.
For my PSU it ended like unsatisfactory sex. In Kent, where true to plot, we discovered coal miners far more grumpy & with less of humour than the blokes in the North Midlands. They oinked like pigs at us, so I started up a mass sheeplike baaing noise at them. This led to one miner telling me that a picket had given my wife crabs whilst I was away - sort of went down hill from there really.
But we ate pizza in Folkestone and had a trip to France on the old Hovercraft - although we couldn't get off as we did not have our passports.
What happen at Orgreave had as much relevance to us as D-Day to a RAF store-man in the Shetlands.
In the end we all lost. Whilst the Police did not do so quite as obviously as the Miners, with whole communities devastated and a way of life gone for ever. Unions, in reality the only power balance against a right wing government, were legislatively castrated with more evisceration on the way, to detriment of us all.
The Police, well we survived Major's attempt, through the Sheehy Report, to equate us with Mothercare assistants and pay accordingly, but May got us in the end. Even the Judiciary think we are too stupid to make something up against a cabinet minister, starting pay has been reduced and the concept of a career in the police has gone forever.
The Miners still have their self respect, memories, Brass Bands and I have an Ercol Welsh Dresser and an early VHS player.
Soon I expect the NHS will be a memory too.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 17:43:29 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec5f02e4b0d1cbcab7bbc5/14096342015-03-03T17:43:29Z0.00.0Red sky at night, Shepherds delight by Margaret Simpsonhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409530
I took this photo while I was walking up one of our hills. I live on farm out in the beautiful Scottish countryside where you are never short on breathtaking views. This was just as the sun was setting over the hill and the colours were amazing.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:12:00 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14095302015-03-03T16:12:00Z55.58-3.83Whitewater Kayaking in Voss, Norwayhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/1409516
It's a mystical, fairytale-like and pristine world-class hot spot for whitewater kayaking. Rivers are clean, fresh and flow-freely. There is kayaking for all genre and levels in Voss and you will be stunned by the picturesque waterfalls and valleys of the area.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:59:27 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/14095162015-03-03T15:59:27Z0.00.0Macho cowboy in pinkhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409509
Observing Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the rodeoTue, 03 Mar 2015 15:56:46 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14095092015-03-03T15:56:46Z36.56-117.41Ladybird roaming on Swiss Chardhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409478
I remember being struck by how beautifully bright this chard was, and then I saw this little lady marching up and down the stalks and couldn't resist taking a snap.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:36:17 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14094782015-03-03T15:36:17Z54.92-1.57Mountain Trekhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409471
The rather dull day on a mountain peak made the minimal amount of colour on the cross-country skier stand out against his dark clothing. A colour-popped image without Photoshop desaturation!Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:30:57 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14094712015-03-03T15:30:57Z0.00.0Flower H'mong womenhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409465
This photo was taken at Bac Ha market in North Vietnam. It shows Flower H'mong women shopping for clothes.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:25:50 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14094652015-03-03T15:25:50Z0.00.0Wild Camping, Santa Anna Archipelago, Swedenhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/1409457
It's a delight of tiny rocky and mostly deserted islands providing shelter from wind and waves and endless exploring possibilities. How did the huge cow-pats get there? (moose walk across when it's frozen). We found an enormous toad prowling in the dark. Camping is romantic, just grab an island to yourself and watch the sunset; and spartan, there's no soil to pitch on. We just lay on a boulder in a row under the stars. Don't count on the weather and remember how to get back again as visual navigation is tricky from sea level.
Mainland camping at Tyrislöt. Rent nearby from http://www.stannakajak.se/Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:18:30 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/14094572015-03-03T15:18:30Z58.4215.75Rio Mira 5k, A sprint to the finish linehttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/1409453
A sprint to the finish line with Iranian paddler in the lead followed by three UK paddlers from Longridge Canoe Club.
I'm a life long paddler. It is in my blood and God knows I've tried to stop. I began paddling in 1966 at the Longridge Scout Centre, Marlow. While I've raced and paddled far and wide each year I return to a winter training camp in Milfontes on the Algarve, Portugal, nestled halfway between Lisbon and Faro.
I first went there with my son four years ago in October half term. Each year I have returned taking more paddlers. This year there were thirty of us from the UK mixing it up with paddlers from Iran, Belarus, Holland, Poland, Germany and Uzbekistan.
My son and his paddling partner are both sixteen and in the podium potential squad of British Canoeing. The sand dunes, specialist gym and river provide a great training environment.
The day after our arrival we competed in the annual 5k race on the estuary of the Rio Mira. The party after was lively even though it was a dry camp for our athletes.
The following week we completed the equivalent of two months of normal winter training. The environment is suited to experienced paddlers. The less experienced would need to be supervised by a coach.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Milfontes-Canoe-Village/373433316078823Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:15:29 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/14094532015-03-03T15:15:29Z37.73-8.78Kayaking on the Hudson, NY, USAhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/1409416
A short drive upstate NY will take you to Cornwall-on-Hudson, a beautiful, quintessential all-American village, happily perched on the banks of the Hudson River. http://www.stormkingadventuretours.com offer stunning Sunset Paddle tours that take you to the famous Bannerman's Island Castle, rich with it's quirky history and photo opportunities. The tour also allows time for a relaxing swim or a daring cliff dive for the more adventurous kayaker. However, the sunset is what really steals the show, so place your cameras in plastic bags, because leaving them behind will be more heartbreaking than losing them to the Hudson.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:41:44 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/14094162015-03-03T14:41:44Z40.76-73.98Sparrowhawkhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec9ed0e4b0043c5eacb35c/1409406
We have over 30 different birds visiting our South London garden and this one pops in from time to time. It's hobbies are sitting on the birdfeeder, watching the world go by and posing for the camera.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:32:22 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec9ed0e4b0043c5eacb35c/14094062015-03-03T14:32:22Z0.00.0Monks working on a Mandalahttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409404
On a trip to Ladakh, IndiaTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:30:23 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14094042015-03-03T14:30:23Z34.1577.57High tide in la Hague, Francehttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/1409399
One of the many high tides for this year, the tide of the century will be on the 21st of March. On this day the sea will reach its maximum level on the Cotentin coast (Normandy, France). This natural phenomen repeats every 18 years as a result of the alignement of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:26:47 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/14093992015-03-03T14:26:47Z0.00.0My mate Jack paddling the 1/4 mile rapids, White River, Vermont, USAhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/1409395
We took a beautiful canoeing vacation on 5 different river in Vermont and had a fabulous time on stunning & remote rivers right up to the Canadian border. We stayed in small B&B deep in the country and feasted on local produce with great company. We travelled with www.greenrivercanoes.comTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:26:01 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec928fe4b0043c5eacb33b/14093952015-03-03T14:26:01Z43.55-72.59Late afternoon sunshine and blue skies follow a heavy snow shower.https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/1409391
The view from our landing window on Sunday afternoon, 1st March 2015.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:24:23 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/14093912015-03-03T14:24:23Z54.58-2.83Lemons at Ravellohttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/1409390
All along the Amalphi Coast you can see the influence of the colours of lemon trees, bright yellows and dark greens in cupolas, pottery and buildings.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:24:20 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54ec8b57e4b095bb772777ad/14093902015-03-03T14:24:20Z40.4215.31A walk in Stratford upon Avonhttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/1409388
Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:22:56 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/14093882015-03-03T14:22:56Z0.00.0An array of weather in one spothttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/1409385
Sunshine, blue sky, clouds and grey sky.. Stunning view from Knole ParkTue, 03 Mar 2015 14:21:19 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/14093852015-03-03T14:21:19Z0.00.0Minnis Bay on a calm Eveninghttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/1409383
One of the most tranquil places for sunsets in Kent. Minnis Bay - blissful.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:19:15 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54edfc3ae4b0c45a1f93a488/14093832015-03-03T14:19:15Z0.00.0Early memories of being in hospital aged 2 1/2.https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54e5d756e4b0bf4351a24735/1409371
My early memories are of being in hospital when I pulled a kettle over myself aged 2 1/2. I was in hospital for 2 weeks.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:08:15 GMThttps://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/54e5d756e4b0bf4351a24735/14093712015-03-03T14:08:15Z52.25-0.83